The Switching Hour
by Harthad
Summary: Jack Kelly and his band of newsies run into the actual cast of the Broadway show. Now extended per popular request!
1. Chapter 1

"NO!"

Jack Kelly ran across the street in Who-Knew-Where-Because-Jack-Certainly-Didn't-Know, pushing pedestrians out of the way frantically. The other boys across the street desperately watched this daring rescue mission. Moments before, Crutchie had tried to limp out across the paved white-and-black lined street to join the others, but he hadn't seen the black and yellow something-that-looked-like-a-carriage-but-wasn't come hurtling from the other direction and make a beeline for him. Jack pushed his friend to the ground as the whatever-it-was swerved around them and blew away. The two got up shakily, Jack checking Crutchie over to see if he was alright. He was, thankfully.

"Hey, Jeremy, you alright?"

Jack turned to see another Crutchie (wait, what?) come walking (without a crutch? What was going on here?) across the busy road. His smile faltered as he saw who Jack was supporting.

"Uh, who's that?" Andrew Keenan-Bolger asked, catching up to the pair.

Jack and Crutchie just stared.

"Andrew! What're you doing?" Andy Richardson shouted from the doorway of the Nederlander.

"Romeo?" Crutchie muttered as the other newsies ran to join them.

"Wait, what's going on here?" Andrew said as he looked between Jack and Crutchie and, well, basically everyone. "Why are all you guys in costume? The show doesn't start for another two hours."

The boys just stared at him while the other cast members ran up to Andrew.

"No, really, what's going on—" Andy's question died as he looked at Romeo.

Ryan Breslin and Race walked up to each other, staring each other down shrewdly.

"Are these guys really big fans or something?" Ryan Steele asked a bit nervously.

"Who are you?" asked Davey and Ben Fankhauser simultaneously.

The final straw was when Jeremy Jordan and Corey Cott walked up to the (now, rather large) group. Jack couldn't believe his eyes. There were three of him?!

"We should get into the theatre," Jeremy said after a long moment. "Ask somebody what's going on here."

Everyone agreed that was a good idea.


	2. Chapter 2

"So, uh….yeah. That's basically it."

Everyone had assembled inside the Nederlander, and were lounging on the theatre seats to listen. The cast had explained to the newsies about their show, and had been met with silence. The boys looked at each other, and then Jack spoke up.

"D'you know how we got here? I was jus' walking around a corner, and then all of a sudden, we's here."

Corey shrugged. "No idea."

"Sorry," Andrew added.

Jack leaned back in his chair. Some people eyed him as he started to put his feet up on the chair in front of him, and he slowly put them back on the floor after noticing all the looks.

"Now what?" he asked.

"How is we goin' to get back?" Crutchie voiced the question that was on all the boy's minds. The cast exchanged looks.

"Maybe we could tell the government or something," Aaron Albano suggested.

The steps of someone walking down the aisle caused many newsies to turn around.

"Spot?" Jack asked. "How'd you get here?" Tommy Bracco gave him a weird look.

"Corey, the show doesn't start until…." He caught sight of Corey sitting in another chair, and fell silent. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"That's Tommy," Evan said to Jack. "Not...uh, Spot."

"So what's going on here?" Tommy demanded again. The cast exchanged looks.

It seemed like there was going to be many explanations given before the day was done.

"I'll go find everyone else," Ben offered, and got up out of his chair.


	3. Chapter 3

Jack stood up, surveying the theatre. It was almost impossible to believe that they were in the future. No, it was impossible to believe that the future had changed this much.

He wanted to get back, though. Back to his New York. Being here just made his head hurt, especially with the cast of the show…about them, and the strike. Just too confusing. Being here made him realize how much he missed his home, and the mundane normalcy of it all. At least the boys were here with him. Crutchie (no, it was Andrew) got up and walked over to meet a tall figure standing in the back of the theatre. Andrew walked up, thinking it was Ben with the others but it wasn't. Definitely not. The government official pushed past him, striding towards the real newsies.

"Hey!" Corey began, standing up. "What are you doing?!" Another agent pushed him back down, and soon the Nederlander was filled with government officials of every shape and size. They surrounded the real newsies, taking a hold of their arms.

"Who are they—" Kara's question died in her throat as the officials started hauling the newsies away without any explanation.

"Stop!" various cast members hollered as the real newsies were taken away. "What're you doing?!"

One tall blonde person stopped, his steely grey eyes surveying everyone. "Doctor Collins, under official Area 51 business."

"There's no such thing as Area 51," Evan muttered feebly.

Collins turned to one of the other men. "Deluded public, huh?" and the man nodded. They pulled the newsies up and out of the theatre with the cast members staring after them, stricken. Crutchie glanced back to where his crutch lay unnoticed by anyone on the floor. There was a minor scuffle as he tried to break free, hopping over as far as he could and then tripping over a notch in the carpet so that he fell flat on his face. Andrew and Corey ran to go help but they quickly drew back as a gun was pointed in their faces. Collins dragged Crutchie back up and away with everyone else, and there was a bang as the theatre doors slammed. The cast exchanged slightly panicked glances, but they had a show to perform, after all. There was nothing they could do.

Or was there?


	4. Chapter 4

Corey was pacing up and down the aisle. Everyone else was silent, not bothering to get ready for their show which was in an hour. How could they put on the show in this manner? The newsies—the real newsies—were now halfway across the country, locked up in Area 51 which apparently was very real. Maybe this was all a hoax? They doubted it. At last, with a sigh, Corey stopped pacing. "I volunteer!" Heads turned to him. "Uh, what?" "Well, somebody's got to go get them back, right? So I'll go. You guys coming?" "Yeah," Tommy stood up, along with Ben and Andrew. "We just haftah steal some car or whatevah, huh? Plane?" "They can't be at Area 51 already," Ben asserted. "We can catch them here, in the city. No car can drive that fast." "Yeah, and no newsies from the past can come to the present, eithah," Tommy muttered.


	5. Chapter 5

Fortunately, Tommy Bracco, Corey Cott, Andrew Keenan-Bolger and Ben Fankhauser caught up with the car they thought was with the kidnapped newsies pretty quickly. Corey had his hands on he wheel, steadily driving as the van in front of them swerved a lot, occasionally disappearing into the New York traffic. Suddenly, it whizzed to a stop and a grizzled, beady-eyed man stepped out to confront the four. He pointed a finger at them, accusing them in his red hat and uniform. The four exchanged glances, ready to duck if the man pulled a gun on them.

"You guys really want some pizza or somethin'?" the man growled, and Corey sighed.

"Sorry, wrong truck." he groaned along with the other three, and turned the car back onto the road. Well, now how were they to find the Area 51 van?

"Name?"

Jack was sitting in a chair behind some table (the interrogation room, had one of the people called it?) with Agent Collins sitting in front of him earnestly.

"Uh, Jack. Jack Kelly." He figured it wouldn't hurt if he just gave his name. After all, maybe these people could help them get home. Back to their own time.

Agent Collins nodded, and tapped some dark screen, which beeped. Jack craned his neck to see what the device was, but he couldn't make it out.

"That it, you're jus' goin' to ask me my name?" Jack asked after a moment of the doctor tapping had gone on.

"Oh no, Jack, more questions are coming. Don't worry though, it's nothing personal—"

Jack jumped as a voice boomed out from the ceiling. He looked up, trying to see where it was.

"We have one of them prepared for dissection, Doctor Collins," the voice boomed, and Jack knew internally that that was nothing good. Doctor Collins noticed him, and sighed.

"It's nothing personal, Jack, we just have to—"

Jack stood up. "You're not dissectin' any of my newsies!"

The kind doctor's face transformed into a sour one. "Very well, we will dissect_ you_."


	6. Chapter 6

"There!" Andrew shouted hurriedly, and Corey quickly took a sharp turn off the road. The car skidded to a stop beside a sleek, black van with tinted windows. It was parked by a crumbling, run-down building.

"You sure this is it?" Tommy asked as the four of them clambered out of the car.

"I'm sure, this is the same van that was parked outside the theatre earlier."

"As long as you're sure," Ben said nervously with a glance, and then made for the barely-standing door. He pushed it open and it fell over with a clang. He looked back at the rest who had hung back slightly.

And then a high-pitched alarm began ringing.

"What is that?!" Agent Collins exclaimed, stopping the other guards who had been marching Jack down the hallway. He stalked away angrily, meaning to check out the noise. It was when he had left Jack in the care of the black-suits that Jack decided to make a move. Elbowing one of the soldiers in the gut and kicking another in the stomach, he ran down the hall in the opposite way. Unknown to him, the other newsies had staged a similar escape attempt, running out of their cell and into the hallway. They collided into Jack, and most all of them fell down.

"Jack? That you?"

"Race?"

"Yeah, it's me! How'd you get here?"

"I made a run for it—quick, let's go!"

The guards had stationed themselves at the end of the hallway, down on one knee and prepared to shoot the hostages. Jack looked wildly from one end to the other, seeing no way out. The soldiers stood at each end, blocking any means of escape.

"Duck!" Jack yelled frantically as the soldiers shouldered their guns and prepared to fire.

All of them ducked.

Except one.


	7. Chapter 7

Davey wavered on his feet, and then fell to the ground with a small cry. "NO!" Les shouted, and ran to his older brother regardless of all the guns in the room. "Davey!" He started shaking him, but Davey didn't say anything. There was a bitter silence as the newsies stood up. Jack broke it by turning to Agent Collins, a mask of disbelief and anger strewn across his face.

"YOU BASTARD!" he shouted, and ran towards the official that had started this mess. He was shoved away at gun point, and several other men grabbed him by the arms and dragged him off from his newsies.

"Jack!" Crutchie yelled after him, limping up as fast as he could. Jack tried to stand up, pushing the soldiers away. "No, Crutchie!" he yelled frantically. "Stay where you are! All of you!"

The newsies watched forlornly as their leader was dragged away. This place, this city—it was all new to them. They were lost and kidnapped in a world they barely even knew. Agent Collins walked up behind the group, his heels clicking on the polished floor.

"Get them all in cells," he commanded the rest of the officials. "And get rid of the dead kid."

"He's not dead!" Les shouted at the men as they took his brother away. Race held out an arm to stop him from chasing after them. "He's not dead!" he shouted again, but they ignored him.

"Prep them for interrogation," Collins commanded with an air of finality.

"Who puts an alarm in an abandoned building?!" Corey demanded, looking around for the source of the noise.

"How should I know?" Ben looked through the darkened doorway. Tommy walked over, inspecting the wall. He frowned, noticing an odd metal handle that protruded out from one of the still-standing concrete walls.

"What doya think this does?" Tommy pulled the lever down, and the floor beneath him opened up. He fell with a shout, crumpling down onto the ground below.

"Tommy!" Corey, Andrew and Ben hurried over, peering down into the hole where Tommy's form was barely visible. "You okay?!"

"Sure," Tommy groaned, propping himself up onto his elbows painfully. He glanced up. "There's a ladder down here if ya want to use it."


	8. Chapter 8

Corey, Andrew and Ben clambered down the ladder to join Tommy. Ben took out a flashlight, fumbled with the switch and then turned it on. A beam of light illuminated the dark tunnel, and to their surprise it wasn't as dank and dirty as it seemed. The light reflected off the gleaming walls, showing their anxious faces back at them. There was no alarm down here, or they simply couldn't just hear it anymore. The four plodded on, wary of anything that could possible jump out at them. In ten minutes that felt more like an hour, they reached a bright white door with no doorknob. They exchanged glances, and then Andrew reached out to tentatively push it open. Corey stepped in first, finding a large white room with bright lights hanging from the ceiling. Metal tables stood in rows, along with sharp medical equipment and lots of computers. Ben rushed over to a table, seeing himself—well, Davey. He looked back up with an anguished look.

"I think he's dead."

"Name?"

"Race." Race stared around moodily, tapping his hands on the table in front of him. He glanced away from the bright light purposely, craning his neck to see out the door. He ignored the soldier at the door and the man with a little notebook in front of him, full of worry for Jack and everyone else.

"Full name?"

Race sighed. "Racetrack Higgins."

There was a pause in which only the scratching of a pen was heard. "Age?"

"I dunno. Prob'ly sixteen or somethin'."

"Place of…residence?"

"Why are you askin' me all these questions?!" Race snapped. The man glanced up at him from behind his glasses. "It's my job, young man."

"Yeah, but why?!"

The man sighed and laid down his notebook, twirling the pen between his fingers. "Apparently you and your group of friends are a threat to the government. Happy?"

Race shook his head. "Why's we a threat?"

"Because Agent Collins said so!" The man snapped. "Any other questions?!"

"Yeah." There was another pause. "You got a cigar?"

The man swiveled his chair to face the soldier at the door. "Bring in one of the other ones. I'm losing my patience." The soldier nodded, and stepped out. He returned soon with Crutchie.

"No, not that one!" the man rubbed his eyes. "He's going in for dissection."

Race and Crutchie shot each other looks. "Wait, what?!" Race and Crutchie started talking at the same time as the soldier dragged Crutchie out again.

"Ya can't dissect 'im!"

"What's dissectin' again?! Race, ya can't let 'em—!"

Race banged his fists on the door as it slammed shut.

The man regarded him carefully. "Perhaps you will be more willing to answer my questions now?"


	9. Chapter 9

Race stood up, slamming a fist on the table. "You can take your questions, and go to—"

He jumped and stopped talking as a loud voice blared from the ceiling. Race looked around, partly in fear and partly in curiosity as Agent Collins' voice boomed down.

"Sykes, how is the interrogation moving along?! I hope you have everything under control?"

The small man glanced at Race, and the newsie looked back at him. "Everything is just fine, Agent," Sykes spoke out, his eyes never leaving Race's face. "Amazing what a good threat can do to these boys, isn't it?"

"Yes, quite. Now hurry up! I want you in the lab in fifteen minutes to analyze the tests of the dissection. This one is giving us a bit of trouble, but I think we have him under control."

The intercom snapped back off. Sykes directed Race to the chair, and he sat down sullenly.

"Now." Sykes picked up his pen again. "How did you come here, and why?"

Off in another room, Jack sat down despairingly with his head in his hands. The government officials had 'kindly' let him stay in a room with a full-length window so that he could see into the laboratory. Where Crutchie was now, supposedly getting picked apart.

Jack stood up with an angry yell, but that soon subsided as he heard whispering at the door.

"You sure he's in here?"

"Yeah, course I'm sure! I 'eard him! He sounds just like ya, Corey!"

"But what if it isn't him?"

"Ben, I'm sure it's Jack. Now will you get this door open!"

"I'm trying!"

Jack ran up to the door. "Uhh, Corey?" Yeah, that was his name. "Corey! Andrew? It's me, Jack! Can ya get me outta here?"

"I'm working on it! Just hang tight."

Jack rolled his eyes and walked away from the door. 'Hang tight' was all he could do now.


	10. Chapter 10

"We was jus' walkin' down the street as a group, an' then suddenly Crutchie almost gets hit by one o' those funny-lookin' carriage things you got!" Race shouted, and the pen slowly scratched on the paper, detailing the notes.

"Yes, of course," Sykes intoned, bored. "But was there any peculiar—strange noises, wind, flashes of light?"

Race's expression hardened. "I don't remember."

"How interesting. Are you sure?"

"I don't remember."

Sykes glanced up at him. "Are you sure?" he repeated.

"I don't remember, an' that's all you'll get outta me when one o' our friends is dead, an' another one is bein' dissected!" Race shouted, standing up. Sykes sighed. "If you will not cooperate—"

"Yeah, threaten me all you want! I'm sick o' this!" Race yelled back, and ran over to the door. Sykes got up and pressed a yellow button stationed on the wall. He hadn't even said anything into the loudspeaker when the alarms started blaring again.

* * *

"Take my hand!" Corey yelled over the whine of the alarms. Jack was yanked out of the room, and frantically followed the castmembers as they ran through the pristine halls. Soldiers in dark clothing swarmed out like a herd of bees, taking aim at the running group.

Jack slowed down, despite the danger. "We gotta get Crutchie!"

Ben ran back and grabbed Jack's hand again. "We can't now! We might get killed ourselves!"

"But—"

"There's no time! We have to get out of here, Jack!"


	11. Chapter 11

"DUCK!" Andrew yelled, and the group frantically bent down, hiding their heads as bullets came whizzing out of the guns. "This way!" Tommy yelled, and the group ran back the way they had came. Jack slowed down, coming to a stop by where Davey lay on the bed. Ben ran back and grabbed Jack's hand, but froze also. "I don't believe it."

"Come on!" Corey yelled at them. Ben held up a hand. "I'm not dead. I mean—Davey isn't dead! Guys, look at this! He's alive!"

"How?!" Jack asked. Sure enough, Davey's chest was faintly moving up and down. His eyelids fluttered as though he was about to wake.

Someone pounded on the door, and it sank in part way, about to fall in. Corey grabbed Ben's hand and pulled him away from his counterpart. Jack followed after a moment's hesitation, and the group soon found themselves in a separate room. Tommy quickly locked the door behind them. Jack walked forward, half in a daze. "This is that laboratory! Where they was…." he ran over to a table, a lump in his throat. "Where they'se dissectin' Crutchie."

Andrew ran over. "Oh, man. Is he dead?"

Jack shook his head. "I don't think so. Crutchie? Crutchie, can ya hear me?"

No response.


	12. Chapter 12

"Is….Is he alright?" Corey walked over, peering down at the kid. He glanced over at Andrew, who gave him a glance as well. It really was disconcerting seeing Andrew right there, alive and healthy, just as normal as always—and then look down and see Crutchie. Corey examined the table after looking to Jack, who seemed to still be in shock, and found a button. He pressed it, and the handcuffs that had been holding Crutchie in place popped off. Corey leaned down, picking the boy up in his arms with a small grunt of exertion. "What has this kid been eating?"

"Don't look at me!" Andrew protested.

"We can't go anywhere," Tommy walked over to them. "Those guys are outside da door."

"We can't just leave Davey," Ben protested. "He was alive, I swear!"

"We believe you, Ben," Corey cut in. "We need to find another way out."

"What's the use?"

The actors turned to look at Jack, who was leaning on the table. He glanced up to them sullenly. "We's as good as stuck in 'ere. No way out, all my newsies are captured, Davey an' Crutchie is almost dead—hell, this is way worse than the strike! There is nothin' we can do!"

"Listen tah yourself!" Tommy exclaimed, walking over to Jack. "Stop being all glum and dumb!"

"I ain't bein' glum an' dumb, I'm pointin' out the facts!" Jack shot back, not paying attention as Ben walked past him to press a button on the wall. Andrew and Corey stared at him as another door opened. Ben caught sight of their looks and shrugged. "What?"

"Come on, Jack," Corey muttered, running up to Ben as Andrew and Tommy followed behind.

"Hey—hey, what?" Jack turned, eyes widening at the sight of the door. He raced after them, following the trio (and Crutchie) through another set of bland halls. Tommy glanced behind as the shouts of the government agents rounded a corner, and sprinted up to a conveniently placed elevator at the end of the hall.

Agent Collins and his troops barely caught the group as the elevator doors were closing. Ben risked a cheeky wave as the doors shut, sending the group on their way up to, hopefully, an exit out of this place.


	13. Chapter 13

"Crutchie ain't dead, is he?!" was the first question out of Jack's mouth. Corey shook his head no, testing for a pulse. "He isn't dead. We need to go to a hospital."

Jack shook his head. "No. No! I'm sick, an' tired o' this crazy place! I want out!"

"Jack, we're trying to find a way," Ben tried to reassure him.

"Yeah?!" Jack challenged him. "A way, when Crutchie's bleedin' out? When my boys is bein' interrogated?! When Davey is—"

"Here's our floor," Andrew said quietly, and Tommy ran out first. He stopped, staring around. "Woah," he whispered quietly.

"What is it?" Ben stepped out, and looked at him. "What?"

Tommy pointed around the room. "Look. Computers."

"And?" Andrew asked.

"What the hell 're computers?!" Jack asked, but Tommy quieted him. "Listen."

Ben and Andrew stepped into the room, staying silent as they looked at the gleaming machines around them. Several images flickered on and off, showing the newsies in cages, though Race was in an interrogation room. They showed Davey—but he wasn't dead. Far from it. The computers showed him hooked up to something with wires all over his head. Another screen showed Crutchie the exact same way. And Specs, and Henry, and Sniper, and Mush, and….everyone else.

Andrew whistled. "What are they doing?"

Tommy walked over to the array of computers, and cautiously pressed a button. Ben stared as part of the wall opened. His eyes bugged out as he saw him hooked up with wires—but he knew it wasn't him. It couldn't be.

It was Davey, of course.

"What did they do to you?" Ben frowned, walking closer to his double, who's eyes were closed. "Ben, come over here, I found something—" Andrew tried to say, but Ben was too distracted to hear them. "Jack, don't touch that!" admonished Tommy. Ben peered at Davey, examining the wires. Why would some government people want to use a newsboy from 1899 as a computer, of all things? Assuming that was what was going on. Ben cautiously poked his doppelganger on the shoulder, and jumped back, eyes widening.

Davey's eyes snapped open, revealing blank red holes. He lunged at Ben, mouth opened in a wide snarl.


	14. Chapter 14

Ben did the obvious thing. He screamed.

"Ben?!" Corey rushed over, stopping short. He saw….nothing. No Ben, no Davey, no wires or computers or antagonistic newsboys. "Where'd he go?" Andrew asked, peeking over.

"We've got a heartbeat!" Tommy yelled, and someone gasped.

"You're tellin' me there wasn't one before?!" Jack yelled, but Tommy quieted him. Crutchie's eyes flew open and he tried to sit up, looking wildly around. "You're okay, kid," Jack promised him, and he blinked. "What's Spot Conlon doin' 'ere?"

"Do you remember anything?" Corey asked, walking over. "We met you in the theater."

"After you almost got hit by that carriage," Jack informed him.

"Car," Tommy muttered.

"Car," Jack muttered back with a glare at Tommy. "Whatevah."

"Yeah, I remember that," Crutchie said. "Where's those fellas in the funny coats?"

"You remember that?" Jack asked, concerned, and Crutchie nodded. "They was cuttin' me open an' stuff."

"Alright, we need to find Ben, and get out of here," Corey asserted. "Crutchie, can you…never mind, we don't have the crutch, do we."

"I'll carry 'im," Jack offered, and Crutchie sighed a bit.

"Guys, don't we have a bigger problem?!" Andrew dashed back into the room. "Ben is missing!"

"Ben is missing!" repeated a computer screen. The group stopped.

"What was that?" Crutchie asked slowly, and a metallic voice that vaguely resembled his repeated, "What was that?"

"What are those machines, anyways?" Jack asked. They all paused, listening for an echo. There wasn't any.

"Why are the computers doing that—" Andrew was cut off by his own echo.

"We should go," Tommy said slowly. He didn't have an echo.

"Why is it only us?!" Crutchie asked.

"Why is it only us?!"

"This is freaky!"

"This is freaky!"

"Guys, we NEED to go!"

"Oh, I'm afraid you aren't going anywhere."

There was a beep and a harsh grating sound. The group turned, and Crutchie's mouth fell open. He took a halting step towards the figure hooked up to all the wires and machinery, ignoring Corey's cautious warning.

"Dave?!"


	15. Chapter 15

"Go go go!" Ben urged the newsies as they scurried out into the hall. He had managed to find a spare pin on his costume, and after several unsuccessful attempts to open the door, Race had finally done it. The newsies and Ben quickly sneaked to the other side of the hall, hoping beyond hope that no one would notice them. That hope, of course, was futile. The closest row of men turned to the group, and aimed their guns.

"Don't shoot!" Ben yelled, and, surprisingly, the men slowly lowered their guns. "Okay," Ben started to say, greatly relieved. "We have…lots of questions. Why are you keeping them here, and what are you doing with them?"

"I think I can explain," Jack walked forward with Andrew, Crutchie, Corey and Tommy at his side. The newsies and government officials all stared at them, and then began asking all sorts of questions that couldn't be answered right then. "Woah, boys!" Jack waved his hands. "Calm down. This is goin' beyond Newsies right now. Come wit' me."

"Why?" Race asked. "Whattaya goin' to tell us?"

"Let's just say it involves cloning," Corey interjected. "And trying to expand the human races' technology from the turn of the century onwards."

"What's the turn o' the century?" Albert asked.

"1899," AKB cut in quickly. "The government kidnapped you, hoping to implant new knowledge about the human race into your brains, and hoped that by sending you back into 1899, people would become more advanced by our year—2013."

"The first experiment went a bit wrong, though," Tommy said. "With Davey. He's a…ummmmm machine now."

"But we can get 'im back!" Crutchie said, ever the optimist.

"Okay," Race said, humoring them because he didn't really know what was going on. "What happens to us now? And where was you fellas?"

"That," Corey stated, "Is a long story."

Race shrugged. "We got time."


End file.
